12 THE GARDENER. [Jan. 



ground till spring, when it reappears as a moth. Gathering the fruit 

 as soon as it falls and destroying it will be found the best means of 

 getting rid of this pest. James M'Millan. 



(To be continued.) 



"MY GARDEN" IN WINTER. 



As I write, my garden lies locked up in the icy bands of the hard 

 frost, and all the pretty smiling flowers are laid low. A few days 

 since and it was different, for then my eyes were gladdened with the 

 sight, here and there, of a few of the blossoms of the early single 

 crimson Primrose, or a Polyanthus, or sweet-scented Violet. Till 

 then, the latest of my summer stocks yielded me flowers, so did the 

 Tom Thumb Antirrhinums ; whilst the Pansies, prematurely gay, gave 

 a promise of the many beauties they will assuredly unfold in the 

 coming spring. So fair and serene had been the prevailing weather, 

 that it did seem we were about to glide gently into the pleasant 

 months of spring without a check or taste of winter ; but we have 

 since been taught a sharp and salutary lesson, and when I write of 

 " my garden in winter," it is winter indeed. My garden is not large 

 or extensive ; it admits of but little variety, but it forms for me no 

 inconsiderable portion of my floral world, and whatever I do therein 

 is matter for deep consideration and forethought. I love my garden, 

 and want to extract from it the greatest possible amount of pleasure 

 and enjoyment. It is not enough that it should yield me Crocuses 

 and Tulips in the spring ; Pelargoniums and Verbenas in summer ; 

 with Asters and Dahlias in autumn : I want to have ever in it some- 

 thing that shall by its beauty, however simple, yield me that satisfac- 

 tion the cultivation of flowers invariably affords. I have a little green- 

 house as well, now and always full of plants that never fail me. There 

 are the remains of the bloom of this year's produce upon my Pelargoni- 

 ums, and they will continue to give me flowers for a few weeks yet to 

 come. There are also some dwarf Tropceolums for next year's propaga- 

 tion that will, throughout the entire winter, send up their bright golden, 

 orange, or scarlet blossoms, as if in defiance of the external cold ; and 

 here and there are a few other plants, some in flower, and some 

 with pretty ornamental foliage, memories of the summer that has 

 departed. And then I have my batch of Primulas, many of which 

 are just now beginning to expand their flowers, — the commencement 

 of another year's delights, that shall not fail me as long as the winter 

 and spring lasts. 



But I write mainly of my external garden, a depository of hardy 



